A popular Malaysian blogger yesterday pleaded not guilty to sedition over an article he wrote that linked the deputy prime minister and his wife to the murder of a Mongolian woman.
Raja Petra Kamaruddin, founder of the popular Malaysia Today site that frequently airs criticism of government leaders, has also been held in detention since August under tough internal security laws.
Najib, who is expected to replace Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as the country’s next leader, has denied any involvement in the 2006 murder of 28-year-old Altantuya Shaariibuu.
Najib’s close friend, Abdul Razak Baginda, is on trial for abetting the murder, and two police officers from a unit that guards the prime minister and his deputy have been charged with the killing.
Raja Petra, 58, pleaded not guilty to the sedition charge lodged over an article published in April entitled “Let’s Send the Altantuya Murderers to Hell.”
“I claim trial,” a tired-looking Raja Petra told the court.
Lawyers said that Malaysia’s Sedition Act, a relic from British colonial times, has historically been used to prevent uprising against the leadership, as well as disharmony among the people.
Raja Petra’s wife, Marina Lee Abdullah, said he would not be cowed into silence, and urged the government to abandon its use of the Internal Security Act (ISA) which allows for detention without trial.
“He is not giving up. He is not a threat to security. If he has done wrong, charge him in court. Do not detain him under the ISA,” she told reporters.
“What’s wrong in exposing leaders who indulge in corruption? Are we supposed to remain silent?” she said.
About three dozen supporters gathered outside the court, wearing T-shirts with slogans such as “I am with RPK,” “Free RPK,” and “No to ISA.”
The ISA, which human rights groups have pushed to have abolished, allows for renewable two-year periods of detention without trial and is normally used against terrorism suspects.
If convicted of sedition, Raja Petra faces a three-year jail term.
The hearing will continue at least until the end of the week and the court will then decide whether the case goes to trial.
People with missing teeth might be able to grow new ones, said Japanese dentists, who are testing a pioneering drug they hope will offer an alternative to dentures and implants. Unlike reptiles and fish, which usually replace their fangs on a regular basis, it is widely accepted that humans and most other mammals only grow two sets of teeth. However, hidden underneath our gums are the dormant buds of a third generation, said Katsu Takahashi, head of oral surgery at the Medical Research Institute Kitano Hospital in Osaka, Japan. His team launched clinical trials at Kyoto University Hospital in October, administering an experimental
‘GOOD POLITICS’: He is a ‘pragmatic radical’ and has moderated his rhetoric since the height of his radicalism in 2014, a lecturer in contemporary Islam said Abu Mohammed al-Jolani is the leader of the Islamist alliance that spearheaded an offensive that rebels say brought down Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and ended five decades of Baath Party rule in Syria. Al-Jolani heads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is rooted in Syria’s branch of al-Qaeda. He is a former extremist who adopted a more moderate posture in order to achieve his goals. Yesterday, as the rebels entered Damascus, he ordered all military forces in the capital not to approach public institutions. Last week, he said the objective of his offensive, which saw city after city fall from government control, was to
IVY LEAGUE GRADUATE: Suspect Luigi Nicholas Mangione, whose grandfather was a self-made real-estate developer and philanthropist, had a life of privilege The man charged with murder in the killing of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare made it clear he was not going to make things easy on authorities, shouting unintelligibly and writhing in the grip of sheriff’s deputies as he was led into court and then objecting to being brought to New York to face trial. The displays of resistance on Tuesday were not expected to significantly delay legal proceedings for Luigi Nicholas Mangione, who was charged in last week’s Manhattan killing of Brian Thompson, the leader of the US’ largest medical insurance company. Little new information has come out about motivation,
‘MONSTROUS CRIME’: The killings were overseen by a powerful gang leader who was convinced his son’s illness was caused by voodoo practitioners, a civil organization said Nearly 200 people in Haiti were killed in brutal weekend violence reportedly orchestrated against voodoo practitioners, with the government on Monday condemning a massacre of “unbearable cruelty.” The killings in the capital, Port-au-Prince, were overseen by a powerful gang leader convinced that his son’s illness was caused by followers of the religion, the civil organization the Committee for Peace and Development (CPD) said. It was the latest act of extreme violence by powerful gangs that control most of the capital in the impoverished Caribbean country mired for decades in political instability, natural disasters and other woes. “He decided to cruelly punish all
RSS